Do you have any tips to help people look after their bike? Do you unfortunately have any horror stories to share to help inspire people to take bike security more seriously?
Get real, angle grinders and hitting riders off their bikes using scaffold poles are far too common. Ride cheaper bikes is the safest way or in numbers.
Would be good to see a video in various Bike insurance to cover theft when out and about. 1 tip if you dint need quick release wheels then dont use them
@@gmbntech it maybe look like a sturdy concreted in object but that doesn't mean the bar or object your locking ya bike to is made of as strong of a material ie the bar you actually lock to is likely hollow and not very thick so it's easier to cut the bike away from what it's locked to then attack a lock and once they have it away from what it's locked to they have time and the tools to break any lock etc
Some thieves cut right through my frame, trying, unsuccessfully, to steal the bike. Cops said they do that to sell the components which don't have a registration number like a frame does. I've also seen thieves cut through the pole the bike is locked to instead of the lock.
I have never had a bike stolen thankfully but the biggest reason is I simply will not leave my bike unattended in public and that is far more effective than any lock will be. If you need to commute then buy a £100 burner bike off marketplace and keep your baby at home 💯
Gcn/gmbn recycling old content ideas. I can't think of any reason why I would of leave a high end mountain bike in an urban environment unattended. Just ride a cheap commuter bike with a good lock.
For context I'm a 53 year old female. Went back to cycling in February 2020 after quite a few years away. Caught a bloke in the act of stealing my bicycle outside a shop. Had it locked up using the highest standard locks. He thought that, as a female, I was going to step back & let him work away. He was wrong. Never laid a hand on him, but, I do carry a very loud bike horn on my person, which he got sounded right into his ear for a few seconds. He bolted.
Maybe don't try that one again unless you have the good sense to actually carry a real means of defense, confidence won't keep you from getting new holes in your body.
@@TheGreenhillsCyclistInRagOrder Bike horn did the trick for disorienting him and drawing attention from possible passersby, certainly worse moves and fortunately it worked out.
Considering almost every town/city in the UK is full of empty shops, Some of these could be converted into indoor secure cycle parking,Maybe one of the insurance companies could take these on and offer "free" parking included for the price of your annual insurance premium? We can only dream of the free municipal bike parking lots like in the Netherlands where you get given a ticket as you park your bike and have to produce it to get your bike back.
When we visited my wife's head office in London, they showed us the bike parking for their employees, sliding glass doors open as you approach, each bike has its own numbered parking space, changing rooms, lockers, and showers. That's how the posh cyclist set lives it seems :)
The problem is now thieves will cut through whatever the bike is chained to. Most videos online show thieves cutting through railings etc. presumably they can then deal with the lock later on. F-ing hate thieves.
Many thieves no longer bother cutting locks : they grind the barrier/rack/rail/bar the bike is attached to, remove the bike and work on the various locks later, far from anybody's eyes.
@@MindControllworst of all the council / city just replaces whatever they cut like it never happened and then it's just a matter of time before the next victim
I think councils / city whoever in charge need to put up signs saying high theft area make sure your bike is secure not only would it make innocent people more aware it may deter would be thieves as they make think the area is being monitored
Bit old school but maybe if more Police were employed on the beat this would deter the Theives even more 😅 Actually prevent crime and protect the public first and foremost !!
I saw a UA-cam clip made in Berlin where thieves cut the hoops for locking bikes to then cover the cut with stickers. When a bike is secured to it they just twist the previously cut hoop and slide the lock off....gone in seconds with zero noise
_i whould never leave a high valuable bike in a urban, if I need a bike in a city than i would have an old used bike for this .... and nice Mountainbike is only used in free time and stored in a close room._
Urban riding is more risky today than its ever been with not knowing if your gonna get jumped, always be aware of people in your direct vicinity and your surroundings, if your running tubeless fit an gps/air tag inside your tire & in your frame. stay safe. happy trails.
As for the bike hoops, they are inadequate. There is a new silent way to steal your bike if you've stupidly locked the frame to them. They use an industrial manual pipe cutter. Two cuts takes a mere 2 minutes as often they are made of cheap thin walled tubing. Out comes the 10" section and away goes your bike. Now, if they made them with thicker walled tubing or filled them with concrete and certainly didn't bolt them to the ground, better BUT an even better way would be thick walled concrete filled square tubing so pipe cutters can't work on them. Whatever the design, something has to be done if we are to take up cycling as they seem to be pushing for more and more. Maybe those Japanese subterranean auto parking units that can accommodate 200 bikes would be a good idea. £1 per day to securely park it underground and NEVER increase the price.
Spend an extra £3000 to get a bike that's 1.5 kilo lighter then carry 2 kilo of locks to protect it. Only to find they bent your frame trying to yank at your bike to break the lock.
@@PerfDayToday Mercia, everyone carries guns, everyone gets killed. Everyone lives in fear of being killed. Europe; yeah your bike gets stolen, but you’re not gonna die for it either.
I just realized that the lock may be anti angle grinder, but that steel tube we lock the bike to, is only 2-3 mm thick and the angle grinder can go trough it in 20 seconds 😢
Having a cheap town bike is the best option. Even "securely" fixed rails or bike stand bars are only made of mild, easy to grind steel, which avoids touching the lock altogether until the bike is in their lair where they have time to nibble away at it.
11:32 "make sure you are locking to something burly and sturdy" while showing a bike locked to a thin rail that an angle grinder would cut in less than 30 seconds.
In Australia people don’t realise that poles that have parking sins attached to them can easily be removed. The poles are the thickness of the black railing in this vid and they are held in by pins. The pins are shaped like a capital L and are 15mm wide and 8mm thick the last 20mm at the top is cut at an angle (through 8mm side) to form a wedge. That wedge is what is hammered into the hole next to the post to hold it in. So a hammer or another heavy object can be used to remove it. The other way it can be installed is by 4 bolts into a plate into concrete, the bolts are about 19 or 20mm. The other way I have seen them mounted is directly into the ground when it is a grassed area. Those poles can be very easily move by pushing and pulling it until it’s removable. This is very easy to do if there has been recent rain. Every car carries a poke removal kit 😂 kinda… car tool tool kits for changing wheels all have a leverage tool and a socket for taking off wheel nuts that are often the same size depending on the wheel…
@ 😂😂😂 Too funny! Most bike thieves wouldn’t actually comment let alone one like mine. The thing is with information that generally it’s not good or bad, it just is. I’ve used my knowledge to inform others of such so they can avoid getting their bike stolen. A bike thief doesn’t need to be informed of the info I shared as this is something they already know.
Never lock a bike you can't afford to lose, no matter how good your lock is, thief will steal it if it is good enough. Ride a bike not worth stealing is the best bet when it comes to commuting.
True, my commuter bike has a flat front tire, rusty chains, automatic shifting (the shifter keeps shifting gears on it's own), the seat is holding on with duck tape and the wheels are bent. I don't even have to lock it 😂
You can't leave your bike locked ANYWHERE, in the vast majority of UK towns and cities. Take them into whatever shop you're going to, and if they complain, leave!
A couple small padlocks hidden on brake disc will give the thieves a unexpected tumble when the try to cycle off. Motorcyclists are smart enough to put a disc lock on rear brake disc and a good front cable and disc lock on front. Time limited thieves often don't click onto the out of sight rear disc lock. The difference with Motorcycles is that " if they want it they'll take it, locks an all, in a van". Also, lots of cheap alarm locks, unfortunately easily broken, will still scare the opportunist thieves.
Me watching this on holiday, coming back I see my beloved bike is stolen, they cut through 2 heavy duty locks and just took it away from my secured bike shed in my apartment building 😥
I don't want to bash your country but in my small Canadian city if we saw a bum with a angle grinder cutting up a bike lock he'd probably have his ass kicked before even starting the machine 😂
It isn't as common as some would have you believe and the couple of YT clips of brazen grinder thefts in London you've probably seen are the exception. Our towns aren't full of scrotes wondering around with angle grinders. Most thieves here are opportunists preying on those naive enough to think a £5 cable lock is a good idea. Probably the same as in Canada.
It doesn't have to be s- - - -y, it just needs to look bad. You can still have good hubs and bottom bracket and have a nice ride. When I was a courier we'd scratch the bike up and cover it with stickers, saddle and all parts well worn, but decent quality.
The only real way to prevent bike theft is take your bije everywhere you go! If your bike isn't allowed, then don't go there! I keep my bike in my sight at all times when I'm out.
Great video Owen. Would like to see a follow up video on the options to transport these locks. I know there are many ways but a brief description would help a lot. Thanks.
as always on these videos, if someone is going out planning to steal bikes, they're going to have the equipment they need to do it, such as grinders and cable cutters capable of cutting the really thick cables, so don't bother with a thick one, you may as well carry a smaller one instead... it'll be lighter to carry and you can bring a much longer one for the same weight allowing you to secure your wheels and saddle to the frame, and your bike will still be safe from opportunistic thieves who won't have any equipment, which probably represents 90% of the threat depending on where we're talking about. with regards to making sure you put it in a public space, most regular people would be uncomfortable trying something in that situation, but also most regular people are not going to do anything at all to deter a thief that they see doing something. throw on a hi-vis vest, safety glasses, and a hard hat, and walk up to it like you're somebody from the city and nobody will even question it. the thief has as long as they want to work on it. in fact I've seen videos of people that were testing these products, not even trying the social engineering trick, just blatantly trying to steal their own bikes, and not a single person called the police, even though it was clear from the look on their face that they recognized the bike was being stolen. the caveat here is that I have no idea how well the camera was hidden: if it looks like a video shoot, they might not have thought it was for real to begin with
Well done Francis, as always. 1Up-USA racks are excellent. I've had an Equip'D rack for several years without any issues. It's solid. The wheel chock accessory that you mentioned is a nice upgrade - I've always been a bit concerned that the front tire is susceptible to a bit too much movement. I think you were overly critical at a couple points in the review relating to the handle pull being up inside the rack and hard to get to etc., especially when there is an EZ Pull handle upgrade available... Love your reviews... informative and even getting more entertaining/humorous ☺👍
Thieves dont waste time attacking locks, they attack what the lock is attached to. Steel railings are easily cut with an angle grinder and a hammer and bolster makes short work of most stonework. In town bike storage 'hubs' have always been a better sollution for expensive ebikes its just that we need more of them.
Sydney Transport set up "secure" bike parking at many of its stations. Unfortunately access to bike park is by Opal card but mostly the doors are left open anyway. They do give an excellent private workshop for the thieves, who can see out but cannot be seen doing their dirty business inside the bike shed! The last one I looked in had remains of several cut bike locks lying around on the floor. I don't think I'll be leaving my bike in any of those places any time soon. If possible I usually choose to lock my bike up to strong railings in front of a cafe preferably with outside tables. This has two plusses: First you can sit near your bike while you have a coffee and, if you have to leave your bike, Mr Sneaky thief will not know if one of the other customers is the bike owner or not.
Yeah, the failure here is the railings. Saw a bike thief vid on YT last week where the theif used a pipe cutter to remove the section of tube - silently, then just took the bike away with locks attached. It was an e-bike.
Oh and I feel advising everyone to write to their MP, to increase police force, or to provide proper public bike storage would be a good shout. More people riding because they aren’t afraid of losing their bike means less co2 emissions, fitter people so less strain on NHS etc. So it’s within their interests.
An over sight*** The Problem with the Bike parking racks and using railings are it’s quieter and just faster to pipe cutter the poles and deal with the lock later. Bike parking racks I think should have an inner rebar or cable in stalled in centre. Knog Alarms are great some sound and tracking.
I had 50’ of logging chain that made a custom length down to 5’ and bought a heavy duty circular lock to where you can get to the shackle. Also put the chain in canvas sleeve so it doesn’t scratch the bike 👍🚵🏻
I take my bike into the stores/Costa wherever with me, I've had a few security guards tell me I cant do it then I ask them well where can I put it where its safe and they put in the back room somewhere lol. I mean like in Tescos, shopping centres the lot. My bike is never getting left locked up anywhere!
NEVER EVER NEVER EVER LEAVE YOUR MAIN BIKE LOCKED IN ANNY STREET OF UK SPECIALLY IN LONDON !!!!EVER NO LOCK OR COP WILL HELP YOU. JUST LOOK AT WHATS GOING IN LEEDS....
I have the Hiplok D1000 Which even with an angle grinder is extremely hard to get through and takes about 3 to 5 angle grinder blades to get through which let's face it most thieves won't be carrying an angle grinder with 3+ spare blades on them. It's a motorcycle lock but I'm also looking to get a heavy duty chain too
With a bike that nice you should probably secure your fork too. Either with another lock or with some kind of tamper proof bolts on the headset / stem to stop it being removed. Realistically though once a bike reaches a certain value you would be better off with a 2nd bike that rides nice but looks rubbish for use in town rather than spending a fortune on locks.
Regarding GPS trackers or air tags, it's unfortunately not as easy as to just inform the police and they will get your stolen bike, at least in Germany. If the GPS signal e.g. points to a larger building with multiple inhabitants, the police would need to get a search warrants to be able to search for your bike, or even multiple ones if there are multiple possible locations. They can't just waltz in there and go get your bike. On the other hand, if they can somehow see somebody that is currently carrying a bike, or even multiple ones, and it's pretty clear what's going on, they could uncover a whole gang of bike thief's thanks to your tracking device.
After trying various degreasers, petrol etc to clean that initial factory grease is mineral turps. Yep crazy but true.. use three containers with enough turps to cover a chain. Soak, shake etc then move chain to the next container. By the last container the chain will be clean and grease free. Use a final 4th container with iso propyl alcohol to remive traces of turps. Then fit chain and use your chain lube of choice.
I use a new York fahgeddaboutit and a disc lock on my rear disc, which has a pit lock axle. So even if an opportunist gets the D off he's not gonna be able to ride it. Obviously you cannot protect against a power tool, only against an opportunist with croppers.
I use the litelok x3 combined with a chain lock and a wheel lock. If the thieves want to cut through whatever my bike is locked to, after cutting through 2 pieces of metal, they'll have to then drag the 25kg bike and locks to wherever they want to take it which will be difficult since both wheels will be locked and a chain locked around the frame.
i've got a ryobi cutoff wheel that's pretty wicked on steel. it's important to note that EVERYTHING can be cut quite easily with cordless tools that can be had on the cheap. safer practices would be a far better way. i also think that it's probably wiser to make it not worth it the effort. i'm trying to get back into it and of course needed a bike. got a walmart level bike for free and patched it up. i'm just gonna use a cheap lock cable. most i'll be doing is running into a store for a few and back out and it will be a deterrent. it's like the cats on your car. you want the thieves to have a better or easier option. time and noise is not on their side.
Avoid locking up right out front of your destination, find a quieter lower traffic area, around the corner, or if available an underground parking lot has so far worked well for me. I can understand the idea that more eyes on it mean it should be more secure, but many other comments mentioning how people will film but not intervene these days.
I just have an old undesirable bike to use as a commuter, was hand me down so didn’t cost me anything, but I’d say even buying one would be worthwhile. Or ask local tip etc, a tip close to me had loads of old bikes.
I had to steal my own bike once because I lost the keys. It was locked in a busy place close to the busstop. I took my papers and stuff with me in case someone would ask questions. In fact nobody asked and it took me a whole while to destroy the lock. And it was a busy place in the city centre. I was not able to destroy the second lock, the frame lock and so I carried the bike in the back and took it with me on the bus. This experience really scared me because it made clear to me that my bike is never safe in public environment.I only leave it outside when I am near by and I have a very noisy alarm.
I have had a Bosch equipped Ebike come in with the electric motor module missing . This was related to a case where the thief tried to deactivate the electric motor driveshaft locking fluted sleeves .
How about making your bike look unique so that it will be easily spotted if stolen? I thought of removing the branding from my bike and putting custom livery on it with my name.
If you have a 2000$+ bike... just don't leave it unattended... Like honestly what are you doing leaving your top spec enduro bike chained to anything...
Never let it out of your sight. Even with a lock through the frame anyone with a Hex wrench can remove expensive wheels, forks, even rear triangle in seconds.
If by any chance I know I have to lock my bike , like on a camping or going out, I make sure to use 2 Abus D locks and an Abus Chain lock, all the highest grade they have. At the camping I double that up with 2 extra D locks and an extra Chain locks and a simple alarm cable lock. I do not own any locks that are worth less than 50 euros and my main D lock is 120 euros.
What does the Cable provide in combination to the D-Lock? The only way to get the bike is breaking the D-Lock, which then releases the cable. If they can break the D-Lock, the cable is no obstacle. The only case it could be usefull is when the pole the D-Lock is attached to isn't secure and they can walk off with the bike+D-Lock on it. So they can break it apart slowly somewhere.
Best way to protect your bike is to never leave it out of your sight. Ive never had a single café or coffee shop not allow me to bring my expensive carbon bike in with me.
Unfortunatly AirTag aren't secure. As bad people used them to stalking others it's now possible to disable them if they stay close to another device for more than 30 minute
If you hide the AirTag in the frame of your bike they can’t disable them . If you read what Apple says on how to disable one is to find the AirTag and remove the battery I have a different tracker that uses apples, Find My tucked away on all of my bikes.
@@bradvdb4136 Hiding a tracker in the frame only works for carbon bikes, because all other typical frame materials would work as a Faraday cage and effectively block all communication with your tracker. So your best bet is really to hide them in plain sight by getting one of those that is integrated into the rear lights or one of those shown in the video.
@@bradvdb4136 If the thieve has an iPhone he will be notified within a couple of minutes that an Airtag is tracking them, so he will know it's there and be able to get rid of it.
It is just frightening how brazen thieves can be. I do not blame people for not getting involved with thieves if they see them in action. I am looking at buying an e bike but am wary because of the risk of theft.
@@Layarion somewhat true! my experience is in these communities its mostly just people doing the right thing with no desire to harm their community, the chances they'd get caught are pretty low and the punishment isn't really anything that would stop someone with bad intentions, the shame would be the worst punishment for someone from a community like that.
Shame you guys couldn’t have updated this since Doddy this this same theme a few years back. Like the fact bike lockable areas are being cut up then stickered back together so you lock you bike assuming it’s a thick tube out of the ground with a few stickers on. Then the thief arrives, pulls the bit of pipe out and slides your lock straight out of the gap. New edit, new updated info!
This is the problem with useless UK governments and even more stupid and useless councils, they talk 'active travel', with the sole aim of reducing travel by car, but if choosing to use your bike, they don't want you to arrive..................Not one council will ever invest in Japanese style underground safe and secure bicycle parking. Losing your bike for an overpriced, luke warm rubbish coffee isn't worth it. Everything else is available on line.
I’ve fitted a tracking device in our bikes, one was stolen it was found and we collected it within the hour. The police found 12 bikes at the address and made an arrest.
If you access your Bosch ebike smart system account on a third party phone , the event data can be seen with that phone's unzip program . I have unzip programs for data recovery on phones I have owned that have failed or had digitiser failures .
Where I live, most bike thieves are just bummy people who want to grab a bike, paint it, and sell it off for a few bucks. There are no organized cabals doing it as a way of making a living. A custom bike that will take WAY too much effort to modify to the point of unrecognizability is just not worth it for most, and adds yet ANOTHER degree of deterrence.
I got 2 bikes. Scott ransom 910 and bike from "walmart" . If I go in store, beer, to friend or something like that i use walmart bike. I never leave my ransom alone. He is with me or in living room. Never got my bike stolen ...
There is really nothing you can ultimately do to secure a bike outside where theft is rampant. You're only real option is to take it inside whenever possible. If the building has a spacious foyer, I doubt they would care whatsoever. Since this situation really only applies to people by themselves, you only have the one bike which means in any fast food place, you can likely just bring it in and sit it beside your table. As long as you know what you're doing and not beat the place up while moving your bike around, you shouldn't have a problem. If it's two or more people, it's a simple matter of somebody staying with the bikes at all times. You take turns going in and doing whatever it is you need to at that particular place. But really, the only thing you're doing by trying to secure it outside is stopping random opportunists, not anyone determined.
i wish i could say i've never had my bike stolen, but since last friday, that's no longer the case. I came home after commuting, left my bike where always left it, planned on making a short stop before getting my hair cut, and in less than 10 minutes, it was stolen. Luckily, it was the cheapest bike i own, since i bought it specifically for the purpose of city commuting, but on the other hand, i bought it less than 2 months ago. One funny thing, i parked the bike right outside my office's building, and locked it on a bike rach outside, and ran inside to check in for work. An hour later i would usually go and get them to a bike cage located in the subterranean parking, with cameras and security. Last monday, i did exactly that, i when i picked the bike from the public rack, next to a cafeteria, i noticed i didn't even locked the bike to the rack. I just closed the u lock around the frame and wedge it between the bars, but no one noticed it.
Some scumbag broke into my locked garage last week ans nicked my hybrid. Bought bolts for the garage door now, and im going to lock my bike itself, somehow inside the garage from now on.
Sadly, not even the very strongest locks will stop a determined thief. They will cut through the anchor point if the locks are too difficult to cut. The only thing I realistically suggest is having a very low cost bike for taking into town. The more expensive the bike, the more tempting it is for the thieves and the more painful it is when it's stolen.
Do you have any tips to help people look after their bike? Do you unfortunately have any horror stories to share to help inspire people to take bike security more seriously?
Get real, angle grinders and hitting riders off their bikes using scaffold poles are far too common.
Ride cheaper bikes is the safest way or in numbers.
Would be good to see a video in various Bike insurance to cover theft when out and about.
1 tip if you dint need quick release wheels then dont use them
@@gmbntech it maybe look like a sturdy concreted in object but that doesn't mean the bar or object your locking ya bike to is made of as strong of a material ie the bar you actually lock to is likely hollow and not very thick so it's easier to cut the bike away from what it's locked to then attack a lock and once they have it away from what it's locked to they have time and the tools to break any lock etc
Some thieves cut right through my frame, trying, unsuccessfully, to steal the bike. Cops said they do that to sell the components which don't have a registration number like a frame does. I've also seen thieves cut through the pole the bike is locked to instead of the lock.
Only take a shit bike into town. With at least one ok lock.
I have never had a bike stolen thankfully but the biggest reason is I simply will not leave my bike unattended in public and that is far more effective than any lock will be.
If you need to commute then buy a £100 burner bike off marketplace and keep your baby at home 💯
Gcn/gmbn recycling old content ideas. I can't think of any reason why I would of leave a high end mountain bike in an urban environment unattended. Just ride a cheap commuter bike with a good lock.
For context I'm a 53 year old female. Went back to cycling in February 2020 after quite a few years away. Caught a bloke in the act of stealing my bicycle outside a shop. Had it locked up using the highest standard locks. He thought that, as a female, I was going to step back & let him work away. He was wrong. Never laid a hand on him, but, I do carry a very loud bike horn on my person, which he got sounded right into his ear for a few seconds. He bolted.
Maybe don't try that one again unless you have the good sense to actually carry a real means of defense, confidence won't keep you from getting new holes in your body.
@@nopenoperson9118 That's true! Never did think that through to the end!
@@TheGreenhillsCyclistInRagOrder Bike horn did the trick for disorienting him and drawing attention from possible passersby, certainly worse moves and fortunately it worked out.
@nopenoperson9118 Fortunately in that moment, may not be so lucky next time!
@@TheGreenhillsCyclistInRagOrder really nice to see you viewing it from another perspective - you're both right 🙌🏻
Considering almost every town/city in the UK is full of empty shops, Some of these could be converted into indoor secure cycle parking,Maybe one of the insurance companies could take these on and offer "free" parking included for the price of your annual insurance premium? We can only dream of the free municipal bike parking lots like in the Netherlands where you get given a ticket as you park your bike and have to produce it to get your bike back.
When we visited my wife's head office in London, they showed us the bike parking for their employees, sliding glass doors open as you approach, each bike has its own numbered parking space, changing rooms, lockers, and showers. That's how the posh cyclist set lives it seems :)
@@timfish4175 in Leicester we have few council run free bike parking places in Town. They take it in to the building and gives your ticket.
@@timfish4175 that’s a great idea 💡 👍
I like this, somewhere where there’s a person always present during the day.
Nope. Other bikers will nick your bike when they go to pick up theirs.
The problem is now thieves will cut through whatever the bike is chained to. Most videos online show thieves cutting through railings etc. presumably they can then deal with the lock later on. F-ing hate thieves.
You live in a police state but yet policing thievery seems to be mission impossible.
Weird how things work 😅
Many thieves no longer bother cutting locks : they grind the barrier/rack/rail/bar the bike is attached to, remove the bike and work on the various locks later, far from anybody's eyes.
ive heard of stories where people have had big locks too big to cut through and the thieves just cut through railings/ object it was locked to
Happenend to me twice. Once they cut away a city fence and another time they cut away part of my landlords porch.
@@MindControllworst of all the council / city just replaces whatever they cut like it never happened and then it's just a matter of time before the next victim
I think councils / city whoever in charge need to put up signs saying high theft area make sure your bike is secure not only would it make innocent people more aware it may deter would be thieves as they make think the area is being monitored
@MindControll try locking your bike to a lamp post, if the thieves try to cut through that they'll get quite a shock lol
Bit old school but maybe if more Police were employed on the beat this would deter the Theives even more 😅 Actually prevent crime and protect the public first and foremost !!
I saw a UA-cam clip made in Berlin where thieves cut the hoops for locking bikes to then cover the cut with stickers. When a bike is secured to it they just twist the previously cut hoop and slide the lock off....gone in seconds with zero noise
I hate it, but that's really genius.
_i whould never leave a high valuable bike in a urban, if I need a bike in a city than i would have an old used bike for this .... and nice Mountainbike is only used in free time and stored in a close room._
Same for me got a used bike for winter and lock anywhere. Go a used old 2005 dirt jump with front and back gears and hydraulic disc brakes
@@FrauHaferniehl i’ll keep my mountain bike for the mountains 👍
Exactly! But some people are dumb.
Urban riding is more risky today than its ever been with not knowing if your gonna get jumped, always be aware of people in your direct vicinity and your surroundings, if your running tubeless fit an gps/air tag inside your tire & in your frame. stay safe. happy trails.
As for the bike hoops, they are inadequate. There is a new silent way to steal your bike if you've stupidly locked the frame to them. They use an industrial manual pipe cutter. Two cuts takes a mere 2 minutes as often they are made of cheap thin walled tubing. Out comes the 10" section and away goes your bike.
Now, if they made them with thicker walled tubing or filled them with concrete and certainly didn't bolt them to the ground, better BUT an even better way would be thick walled concrete filled square tubing so pipe cutters can't work on them.
Whatever the design, something has to be done if we are to take up cycling as they seem to be pushing for more and more.
Maybe those Japanese subterranean auto parking units that can accommodate 200 bikes would be a good idea. £1 per day to securely park it underground and NEVER increase the price.
You can have the most expensive lock you want. They will grind off the post instead.
Spend an extra £3000 to get a bike that's 1.5 kilo lighter then carry 2 kilo of locks to protect it. Only to find they bent your frame trying to yank at your bike to break the lock.
This may not help in the UK, but in the USA, a basic chain and Glock can provide a great deal of protection.
@@brucewarren5248 I see what you did there!
@@brucewarren5248 ya’ll too fat to ride anyways 😉
funny
Or pepper spray. 😢 “This law effectively means that carrying or using pepper spray in the UK carries the same penalty as carrying or using a gun.”
@@PerfDayToday Mercia, everyone carries guns, everyone gets killed. Everyone lives in fear of being killed. Europe; yeah your bike gets stolen, but you’re not gonna die for it either.
Finally! A Well-needed educational video on bike security. Well done GMBN Tech 👏
I just realized that the lock may be anti angle grinder, but that steel tube we lock the bike to, is only 2-3 mm thick and the angle grinder can go trough it in 20 seconds 😢
Having a cheap town bike is the best option. Even "securely" fixed rails or bike stand bars are only made of mild, easy to grind steel, which avoids touching the lock altogether until the bike is in their lair where they have time to nibble away at it.
11:32 "make sure you are locking to something burly and sturdy" while showing a bike locked to a thin rail that an angle grinder would cut in less than 30 seconds.
In Australia people don’t realise that poles that have parking sins attached to them can easily be removed. The poles are the thickness of the black railing in this vid and they are held in by pins. The pins are shaped like a capital L and are 15mm wide and 8mm thick the last 20mm at the top is cut at an angle (through 8mm side) to form a wedge. That wedge is what is hammered into the hole next to the post to hold it in. So a hammer or another heavy object can be used to remove it. The other way it can be installed is by 4 bolts into a plate into concrete, the bolts are about 19 or 20mm. The other way I have seen them mounted is directly into the ground when it is a grassed area. Those poles can be very easily move by pushing and pulling it until it’s removable. This is very easy to do if there has been recent rain.
Every car carries a poke removal kit 😂 kinda… car tool tool kits for changing wheels all have a leverage tool and a socket for taking off wheel nuts that are often the same size depending on the wheel…
You sound like a bike thief telling other bike thieves how to do it.
@ 😂😂😂
Too funny! Most bike thieves wouldn’t actually comment let alone one like mine. The thing is with information that generally it’s not good or bad, it just is. I’ve used my knowledge to inform others of such so they can avoid getting their bike stolen. A bike thief doesn’t need to be informed of the info I shared as this is something they already know.
@ There's new ones all the time. I'm sick of people in these comment sections telling people how to break locks, too.
@
🎻
Appreciate your thoughts Owen.
Cheers
OWEN COUS!!!!!!
I see Owen on the thumbnail ..... my hands just click without my conscious volition :P
Thanks Homie.
great video, thank you!
Never lock a bike you can't afford to lose, no matter how good your lock is, thief will steal it if it is good enough. Ride a bike not worth stealing is the best bet when it comes to commuting.
I agree 100%, my 50 year old “10 speed” has seen load of upgrades but it’s not apparent to all that it’s actually a sweet ride 😉😎🤙
exactly, why would i buy a £200 lock to hopefully lock up my bike when i could just get a used bike for that
True, my commuter bike has a flat front tire, rusty chains, automatic shifting (the shifter keeps shifting gears on it's own), the seat is holding on with duck tape and the wheels are bent. I don't even have to lock it 😂
You can't leave your bike locked ANYWHERE, in the vast majority of UK towns and cities.
Take them into whatever shop you're going to, and if they complain, leave!
A couple small padlocks hidden on brake disc will give the thieves a unexpected tumble when the try to cycle off. Motorcyclists are smart enough to put a disc lock on rear brake disc and a good front cable and disc lock on front. Time limited thieves often don't click onto the out of sight rear disc lock. The difference with Motorcycles is that " if they want it they'll take it, locks an all, in a van". Also, lots of cheap alarm locks, unfortunately easily broken, will still scare the opportunist thieves.
NEVER WEAR A LOCK OR CHAIN AROUND YOUR WAIST. IN AN ACCIDENT IT COULD SERIOUSLY INJURE YOU😱🚴.
Me watching this on holiday, coming back I see my beloved bike is stolen, they cut through 2 heavy duty locks and just took it away from my secured bike shed in my apartment building 😥
I don't want to bash your country but in my small Canadian city if we saw a bum with a angle grinder cutting up a bike lock he'd probably have his ass kicked before even starting the machine 😂
They dont look like bums. Its the new millinium. They look like utility workers repleat with helmets.
It isn't as common as some would have you believe and the couple of YT clips of brazen grinder thefts in London you've probably seen are the exception. Our towns aren't full of scrotes wondering around with angle grinders. Most thieves here are opportunists preying on those naive enough to think a £5 cable lock is a good idea. Probably the same as in Canada.
the best form of bike theft prevention in an urban environment, is to ride a 30 year old junker that no one wants to pinch.
Ride a shitty bike in town.
Nice bike I only use in the woods
It doesn't have to be s- - - -y, it just needs to look bad. You can still have good hubs and bottom bracket and have a nice ride. When I was a courier we'd scratch the bike up and cover it with stickers, saddle and all parts well worn, but decent quality.
The only real way to prevent bike theft is take your bije everywhere you go! If your bike isn't allowed, then don't go there!
I keep my bike in my sight at all times when I'm out.
Great video Owen. Would like to see a follow up video on the options to transport these locks. I know there are many ways but a brief description would help a lot. Thanks.
You transport these locks on a cheap commuter bicycle. Leave your mountain bike away from urban environments.
UK really delivers when it comes to daylight stealing, in the middle of a crowded city, it baffles me, how it’s possible😳🤷♂️
@@wonderwatch2239 52% voted brexit, so you have more poverty and a 50/50 noone will do anything
@@redboyjan idiot
as always on these videos, if someone is going out planning to steal bikes, they're going to have the equipment they need to do it, such as grinders and cable cutters capable of cutting the really thick cables, so don't bother with a thick one, you may as well carry a smaller one instead... it'll be lighter to carry and you can bring a much longer one for the same weight allowing you to secure your wheels and saddle to the frame, and your bike will still be safe from opportunistic thieves who won't have any equipment, which probably represents 90% of the threat depending on where we're talking about.
with regards to making sure you put it in a public space, most regular people would be uncomfortable trying something in that situation, but also most regular people are not going to do anything at all to deter a thief that they see doing something. throw on a hi-vis vest, safety glasses, and a hard hat, and walk up to it like you're somebody from the city and nobody will even question it. the thief has as long as they want to work on it. in fact I've seen videos of people that were testing these products, not even trying the social engineering trick, just blatantly trying to steal their own bikes, and not a single person called the police, even though it was clear from the look on their face that they recognized the bike was being stolen. the caveat here is that I have no idea how well the camera was hidden: if it looks like a video shoot, they might not have thought it was for real to begin with
Well done Francis, as always. 1Up-USA racks are excellent. I've had an Equip'D rack for several years without any issues. It's solid. The wheel chock accessory that you mentioned is a nice upgrade - I've always been a bit concerned that the front tire is susceptible to a bit too much movement. I think you were overly critical at a couple points in the review relating to the handle pull being up inside the rack and hard to get to etc., especially when there is an EZ Pull handle upgrade available...
Love your reviews... informative and even getting more entertaining/humorous ☺👍
I use my Kryptonite chain as a flail.
It's what you lock it to though.
Thieves dont waste time attacking locks, they attack what the lock is attached to. Steel railings are easily cut with an angle grinder and a hammer and bolster makes short work of most stonework. In town bike storage 'hubs' have always been a better sollution for expensive ebikes its just that we need more of them.
Sydney Transport set up "secure" bike parking at many of its stations. Unfortunately access to bike park is by Opal card but mostly the doors are left open anyway. They do give an excellent private workshop for the thieves, who can see out but cannot be seen doing their dirty business inside the bike shed! The last one I looked in had remains of several cut bike locks lying around on the floor. I don't think I'll be leaving my bike in any of those places any time soon. If possible I usually choose to lock my bike up to strong railings in front of a cafe preferably with outside tables. This has two plusses:
First you can sit near your bike while you have a coffee and, if you have to leave your bike, Mr Sneaky thief will not know if one of the other customers is the bike owner or not.
Yeah, the failure here is the railings. Saw a bike thief vid on YT last week where the theif used a pipe cutter to remove the section of tube - silently, then just took the bike away with locks attached. It was an e-bike.
Oh and I feel advising everyone to write to their MP, to increase police force, or to provide proper public bike storage would be a good shout. More people riding because they aren’t afraid of losing their bike means less co2 emissions, fitter people so less strain on NHS etc. So it’s within their interests.
An over sight*** The Problem with the Bike parking racks and using railings are it’s quieter and just faster to pipe cutter the poles and deal with the lock later. Bike parking racks I think should have an inner rebar or cable in stalled in centre. Knog Alarms are great some sound and tracking.
My bike doesn't go into town. Where I live, I could leave it out in front of my house unattended and not worry about it
I had 50’ of logging chain that made a custom length down to 5’ and bought a heavy duty circular lock to where you can get to the shackle. Also put the chain in canvas sleeve so it doesn’t scratch the bike 👍🚵🏻
Here’s a good idea- don’t ride your expensive bike if you plan on parking it in public.
I take my bike into the stores/Costa wherever with me, I've had a few security guards tell me I cant do it then I ask them well where can I put it where its safe and they put in the back room somewhere lol. I mean like in Tescos, shopping centres the lot. My bike is never getting left locked up anywhere!
Great video
NEVER EVER NEVER EVER LEAVE YOUR MAIN BIKE LOCKED IN ANNY STREET OF UK SPECIALLY IN LONDON !!!!EVER NO LOCK OR COP WILL HELP YOU. JUST LOOK AT WHATS GOING IN LEEDS....
@@moozeex1 it’s sad to know the value of a person might worth a few hundreds or even a couple of dollars nowadays.
One I never see is what I do. If you go somewhere often leave some heavy duty locks there as well as carry other locks with your bike
We all know that they will angle grind whatever the bike is attached to rather than the lock. Never leave your bike anywhere. Simple.
I have the Hiplok D1000 Which even with an angle grinder is extremely hard to get through and takes about 3 to 5 angle grinder blades to get through which let's face it most thieves won't be carrying an angle grinder with 3+ spare blades on them. It's a motorcycle lock but I'm also looking to get a heavy duty chain too
They will then cut whatever you attached it to.
I make sure to attach it to something extremely thick or a proper bike lock rack
With a bike that nice you should probably secure your fork too. Either with another lock or with some kind of tamper proof bolts on the headset / stem to stop it being removed. Realistically though once a bike reaches a certain value you would be better off with a 2nd bike that rides nice but looks rubbish for use in town rather than spending a fortune on locks.
Regarding GPS trackers or air tags, it's unfortunately not as easy as to just inform the police and they will get your stolen bike, at least in Germany.
If the GPS signal e.g. points to a larger building with multiple inhabitants, the police would need to get a search warrants to be able to search for your bike, or even multiple ones if there are multiple possible locations. They can't just waltz in there and go get your bike.
On the other hand, if they can somehow see somebody that is currently carrying a bike, or even multiple ones, and it's pretty clear what's going on, they could uncover a whole gang of bike thief's thanks to your tracking device.
What we need are monitored storage at train stations and inner city areas that are popular with cyclists
Agreed that would be great!
Cheers
Owen
After trying various degreasers, petrol etc to clean that initial factory grease is mineral turps. Yep crazy but true.. use three containers with enough turps to cover a chain. Soak, shake etc then move chain to the next container. By the last container the chain will be clean and grease free. Use a final 4th container with iso propyl alcohol to remive traces of turps. Then fit chain and use your chain lube of choice.
It's surprising how little people pay attention to anything in high foot traffic areas.
I use a new York fahgeddaboutit and a disc lock on my rear disc, which has a pit lock axle. So even if an opportunist gets the D off he's not gonna be able to ride it. Obviously you cannot protect against a power tool, only against an opportunist with croppers.
I use the litelok x3 combined with a chain lock and a wheel lock. If the thieves want to cut through whatever my bike is locked to, after cutting through 2 pieces of metal, they'll have to then drag the 25kg bike and locks to wherever they want to take it which will be difficult since both wheels will be locked and a chain locked around the frame.
i've got a ryobi cutoff wheel that's pretty wicked on steel. it's important to note that EVERYTHING can be cut quite easily with cordless tools that can be had on the cheap. safer practices would be a far better way. i also think that it's probably wiser to make it not worth it the effort. i'm trying to get back into it and of course needed a bike. got a walmart level bike for free and patched it up. i'm just gonna use a cheap lock cable. most i'll be doing is running into a store for a few and back out and it will be a deterrent. it's like the cats on your car. you want the thieves to have a better or easier option. time and noise is not on their side.
Avoid locking up right out front of your destination, find a quieter lower traffic area, around the corner, or if available an underground parking lot has so far worked well for me.
I can understand the idea that more eyes on it mean it should be more secure, but many other comments mentioning how people will film but not intervene these days.
I just have an old undesirable bike to use as a commuter, was hand me down so didn’t cost me anything, but I’d say even buying one would be worthwhile. Or ask local tip etc, a tip close to me had loads of old bikes.
I had to steal my own bike once because I lost the keys. It was locked in a busy place close to the busstop. I took my papers and stuff with me in case someone would ask questions. In fact nobody asked and it took me a whole while to destroy the lock. And it was a busy place in the city centre. I was not able to destroy the second lock, the frame lock and so I carried the bike in the back and took it with me on the bus. This experience really scared me because it made clear to me that my bike is never safe in public environment.I only leave it outside when I am near by and I have a very noisy alarm.
I have had a Bosch equipped Ebike come in with the electric motor module missing . This was related to a case where the thief tried to deactivate the electric motor driveshaft locking fluted sleeves .
Best way to steal a bike in a heavy traffic areas is to pretend that you're recording a video like this 😂😂😂😂😂😂
The 'documented evidence' approach! Like it 😅
How about making your bike look unique so that it will be easily spotted if stolen? I thought of removing the branding from my bike and putting custom livery on it with my name.
Never, ever leave your bike unattended.
Good ol v brakes. Just disconnect them when parking up
@@Rubblechops why disconnect
@@michaelwiseman2571 so any little shit who tries scooting off on your bike has a horrible crash
@@Rubblechops well wel
If you have a 2000$+ bike... just don't leave it unattended...
Like honestly what are you doing leaving your top spec enduro bike chained to anything...
Hiplok dx1000 I have and also the higher model seatylock folding lock
Never let it out of your sight. Even with a lock through the frame anyone with a Hex wrench can remove expensive wheels, forks, even rear triangle in seconds.
If by any chance I know I have to lock my bike , like on a camping or going out, I make sure to use 2 Abus D locks and an Abus Chain lock, all the highest grade they have. At the camping I double that up with 2 extra D locks and an extra Chain locks and a simple alarm cable lock. I do not own any locks that are worth less than 50 euros and my main D lock is 120 euros.
What does the Cable provide in combination to the D-Lock? The only way to get the bike is breaking the D-Lock, which then releases the cable. If they can break the D-Lock, the cable is no obstacle. The only case it could be usefull is when the pole the D-Lock is attached to isn't secure and they can walk off with the bike+D-Lock on it. So they can break it apart slowly somewhere.
See "Lock Picking Lawyer" videos if you want a good lock.
i use my brothers bike if i know im going to be leaving it somewhere unattended 😅
Best way to protect your bike is to never leave it out of your sight. Ive never had a single café or coffee shop not allow me to bring my expensive carbon bike in with me.
Unfortunatly AirTag aren't secure. As bad people used them to stalking others it's now possible to disable them if they stay close to another device for more than 30 minute
If you hide the AirTag in the frame of your bike they can’t disable them . If you read what Apple says on how to disable one is to find the AirTag and remove the battery I have a different tracker that uses apples, Find My tucked away on all of my bikes.
@@bradvdb4136 Hiding a tracker in the frame only works for carbon bikes, because all other typical frame materials would work as a Faraday cage and effectively block all communication with your tracker. So your best bet is really to hide them in plain sight by getting one of those that is integrated into the rear lights or one of those shown in the video.
@@bradvdb4136 If the thieve has an iPhone he will be notified within a couple of minutes that an Airtag is tracking them, so he will know it's there and be able to get rid of it.
8:19 _OBVIOUSLY_ a *paid actor.*
It is just frightening how brazen thieves can be. I do not blame people for not getting involved with thieves if they see them in action. I am looking at buying an e bike but am wary because of the risk of theft.
Yeah but the public are just standing and videoing the thieves for UA-cam video's their part the problem
@@Emtbtoday people don't want to approach a person with an angle grinder.... wonder why.
@@pennywood5653sensible but I have seen bystanders in videos throwing things at the thieves to slow them down and of course calling the police
The best lock, is actually fear of getting punished for stealing.
Think again
@@noneofyourbusiness4294 enlighten me.
the best lock is living in a high trust society
@@Tanner731 and believing you'll get caught is a part of that.
@@Layarion somewhat true! my experience is in these communities its mostly just people doing the right thing with no desire to harm their community, the chances they'd get caught are pretty low and the punishment isn't really anything that would stop someone with bad intentions, the shame would be the worst punishment for someone from a community like that.
What if you have an expensive seat? In some cases a seat alone would be temping to a thief.
Shame you guys couldn’t have updated this since Doddy this this same theme a few years back. Like the fact bike lockable areas are being cut up then stickered back together so you lock you bike assuming it’s a thick tube out of the ground with a few stickers on. Then the thief arrives, pulls the bit of pipe out and slides your lock straight out of the gap. New edit, new updated info!
Still best protection is good insurance.
This is the problem with useless UK governments and even more stupid and useless councils, they talk 'active travel', with the sole aim of reducing travel by car, but if choosing to use your bike, they don't want you to arrive..................Not one council will ever invest in Japanese style underground safe and secure bicycle parking. Losing your bike for an overpriced, luke warm rubbish coffee isn't worth it. Everything else is available on line.
I’ve fitted a tracking device in our bikes, one was stolen it was found and we collected it within the hour. The police found 12 bikes at the address and made an arrest.
If you access your Bosch ebike smart system account on a third party phone , the event data can be seen with that phone's unzip program . I have unzip programs for data recovery on phones I have owned that have failed or had digitiser failures .
Where I live, most bike thieves are just bummy people who want to grab a bike, paint it, and sell it off for a few bucks. There are no organized cabals doing it as a way of making a living. A custom bike that will take WAY too much effort to modify to the point of unrecognizability is just not worth it for most, and adds yet ANOTHER degree of deterrence.
I got 2 bikes. Scott ransom 910 and bike from "walmart" . If I go in store, beer, to friend or something like that i use walmart bike. I never leave my ransom alone. He is with me or in living room. Never got my bike stolen ...
There is really nothing you can ultimately do to secure a bike outside where theft is rampant. You're only real option is to take it inside whenever possible. If the building has a spacious foyer, I doubt they would care whatsoever. Since this situation really only applies to people by themselves, you only have the one bike which means in any fast food place, you can likely just bring it in and sit it beside your table. As long as you know what you're doing and not beat the place up while moving your bike around, you shouldn't have a problem.
If it's two or more people, it's a simple matter of somebody staying with the bikes at all times. You take turns going in and doing whatever it is you need to at that particular place.
But really, the only thing you're doing by trying to secure it outside is stopping random opportunists, not anyone determined.
what about locking the bike up and keeping a mean dog nearby?
one angle grinder with cutting blade can take less than 60 seconds.
Police are too busy going after those who hurt some sad sod's feelings online, they don't care about your bike.
Best way to protect your bike is to connect it to the 3000v from the local grid.
i wish i could say i've never had my bike stolen, but since last friday, that's no longer the case. I came home after commuting, left my bike where always left it, planned on making a short stop before getting my hair cut, and in less than 10 minutes, it was stolen. Luckily, it was the cheapest bike i own, since i bought it specifically for the purpose of city commuting, but on the other hand, i bought it less than 2 months ago.
One funny thing, i parked the bike right outside my office's building, and locked it on a bike rach outside, and ran inside to check in for work. An hour later i would usually go and get them to a bike cage located in the subterranean parking, with cameras and security. Last monday, i did exactly that, i when i picked the bike from the public rack, next to a cafeteria, i noticed i didn't even locked the bike to the rack. I just closed the u lock around the frame and wedge it between the bars, but no one noticed it.
Ahmmm. In Toronto, bike thieves got into that exact kryptonyte rope cable with the orange rubber. Like butter. Bye bye ebike.
Unfortunately, most locks can be defeated in seconds with a powder-actuated nail gun. Combine a quality lock with a hidden tracking device
These days, leaving a flash bike locked outside for any longer than a few minutes is bonkers.
Some scumbag broke into my locked garage last week ans nicked my hybrid. Bought bolts for the garage door now, and im going to lock my bike itself, somehow inside the garage from now on.
Sadly, not even the very strongest locks will stop a determined thief. They will cut through the anchor point if the locks are too difficult to cut.
The only thing I realistically suggest is having a very low cost bike for taking into town. The more expensive the bike, the more tempting it is for the thieves and the more painful it is when it's stolen.
Thieves also use pipe cutters to cut what the bike is locked to. They can then remove the lock in their own time